Archive for the ‘My Love’ Category

Today (and yesterday, and the day before) I lost my cool with Sophia. “Whaaaaaaaaat?!” I ask after she’s tried for what seems like 30 minutes straight to get my attention. “I just wanted to tell you that I got Jasmine’s skirt on all by myself, Mo-om,” she says, heart broken-ly, princess Jasmine doll in hand. What is it that encourages our children to wait until we are most stressed to try to stress us out some more. Even when I’m truly trying to listen, I just don’t seem to get it right. Like today, for instance, Sophia ran ahead of me and Jolie and stood on the bottom step of the library and repeated over and over, “I want to go first, k? Let me go first, k?” I walked past her and started up the steps, when all of a sudden she yells out, “Mom! I told you already that I want to go first up the steps.” “Then why aren’t you going up the steps?” I ask. “I was waiting for you and I already told you I want to go first and you didn’t listen to me.” “So, go first then,” I say. She then spends the next hour sulking in the library over the whole event.

These challenges are what make breaks from normal life extraordinary. Like a trip to Fairbanks where it averaged zero degrees Fahrenheit and Jolie and I got to hang out with my little sis and my mom – not to mention attend a conference with a bunch of other really cool librarians like myself. I loved breathing the crisp air and visiting Santa Claus’ house in North Pole and experiencing the heat of Chena Hot Springs (way more heat than we expected :)) And I loved a chance to miss Sophia. And I loved that she missed me. And I loved that after we got home we only had a few days to wait before all 4 of us got on a plane and flew down to visit Isaac’s family.

The trip to California can be summed up with just 6 little words: CAN WE JUST STAY HERE FOREVER? Something about the warm, but not uncomfortably warm, weather, and the way Sophia smiled after seeing her favorite princess (Cinderella), and seeing Jolie’s bare skin get kissed by the sun for the first time made me wish that our trip would never end. On our last day there, we spent most of the morning over at Isaac’s grandparents’ house and I watched Grammy rock Jolie and kiss her chubby arms. Sophia spent the better part of 15 minutes admiring Grammy’s “sprinkles” all over her face and neck and even said, “When I get bigger, I can have sprinkles, too, just like Grammy.” Grampy was so sweet and kept on telling us what good girls we have.

If you know this man, I don’t have to tell you that he loves his girls more than life itself. 3 1/2 years ago when we said our vows, I never could have imagined that in such a short time I would be sharing him with 2 other girls and loving it so much. Already he’s the perfect example of what they will search for one day in a husband, and nothing could make me happier.

There are times throughout the day when he reminds me that he hasn’t gotten a chance to hold Jolie very much. He calls dibs on getting to read stories to Sophia. He spends extra time before bed telling his girls stories of himself and their uncle Freddy from when they were little boys. For him, fatherhood is an adventure bigger than anything he’ll ever experience anywhere else. And all his girls are happy to have him.

Up until last night, I was the only person who ever felt that there is a life inside of me. He or she has been moving around in there for about 3 weeks now, but last night Isaac placed his hand on my belly and felt a series of kicks that lasted about a minute. I could see on his face the amazement and love that only fathers can have. It was incredible.

The greatest dad the world has ever known turns 32 today. He has the heart of a child, but the strength that is needed to be the wonderful husband and father God has called him to be. I will forever be grateful to Him for blessing us with Isaac.

You know how older people (no matter how old you are, there is always someone older) are always telling you tidbits of advice they’ve gathered throughout the years? Like to “not worry about the little things” and to “take time to stop and smell the roses”, and other things to that effect? And you know full well that they are trying to spare you heart-ache, and trouble, and lost years? And you listen to them and nod and are completely well-meaning in wanting to heed their advice and learn from their mistakes, right? Fast forward, X-number of months/years later and it suddenly dawns on you that what you actually learned from your lost years and your lost chances is that you need not “worry about the little things” and that you should take time to “stop and smell the roses”. What I’m saying here, is that advice is great, but for me, it has only really made a difference in retrospect. In those moments where a light bulb turns on upstairs and I realize all of a sudden what my uncle was talking about nearly a decade ago when he told me that it is important to marry someone who believes in God the same way that you do, is something that I look at now and say, “Yes, Uncle Fred, I know.” Because I ended up marrying a man who thought NOTHING more important in life than that I know Jesus as my Lord.

Right around the time Isaac and I were married, I received so much advice from friends and family about how to have a good marriage: take time for yourself every once in a while, encourage him to do the same, respect him as the leader of your family, encourage each other in your endeavors. Then little bit, by little bit, over the course of 3+ years, more light bulbs have started to turn on, and this advice comes flooding back.

I sat in the front pew at church today, which I don’t think I’ve ever done. We usually sit toward the back (mostly so we have a quick exit for a Sophia emergency). But today, I sat up front to hear my husband preach a sermon. He is not a preacher, but was asked by our pastor to take the place this Sunday morning. It was hard for him to say yes, and I saw that, so I tried to justify him saying no, letting him know that it would be completely reasonable to do so. In the end, though, he agreed to do it. I sat there this morning and listened to his words, and I laughed and cried and nodded my head countless times as he spoke about physical light that was created by God, and the metaphorical light of the Savior, and then related stories of his own experiences in being a light to the world around him. All of a sudden, the biggest light of all was turned on. I thought if I could go back in time to give myself any marriage advice, I’d tell myself to “encourage my husband to let the Lord work in him”. I’d tell myself to “allow each other to take chances for the Lord”, and to “be a light to this world through Jesus our King”.

Not that it would have done any good, anyway, but I’m glad to see it now.

Last week I mentioned not getting to post something that I was working on – well, here it is. This day was recorded last Thursday, March 1.

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It’s Thursday morning, at about 4:25, just before my alarm goes off. Sophia wakes up from a coughing fit she’s been having off and on for the past few hours and finally starts to cry. Isaac gets her and puts her in bed between us and I reset my alarm for another 10 minutes hoping she’ll fall asleep in that time so that I’m able to get up without her wanting to get up as well. She clears her nose by breathing in and out of it really hard and fast and eventually plops her head down on my pillow and relaxes (she prefers my pillow over Isaac’s, for some reason). By the time I get myself up out of bed, her breaths are steady and she is asleep. When I come to kiss Isaac goodbye she’s has happy as can be snuggled up against her Papa.

She is finally fully awake by 7. As routine will have it, she requests a banana just like she has for the past 300 days in a row. She sits on the couch and slowly wakes up to a Baby Einstein movie.

Now that she’s had a chance to wake up, she wants breakfast. Breakfast changes day to day, but today she’s offered eggs and she nods her head and says, “With ketchup!” She scarfs them down with her big appetite, and is now ready for bigger and better things.

She gets a little morning reading in.

Takes a shower……making sure to wash those shower walls extra good. 🙂

Requests a blanket because she is FREEZING!Dresses and brushes those pearly whites. And then it’s time to go outside.Uh-oh. Bad fall. But even worse since Papa has taken an extra few seconds to snap a photo of the event. Poor thing. But he’ll soon make it up to her with a special surprise.

Sophia wonders where they could be going…

The Animal Shelter?!!!! Hooray!The Animal Shelter! We’ve been reading Curious George and the Puppies a lot lately, so this little girl knows exactly what animal shelters are all about (or at least what kids should now about them). She loves seeing the kitties, the puppies, the big dogs and the turtle.She teases the dogs by holding the treats a little to far from their lips so they really have to try to press through the cage wall to get to them. She doesn’t realize she’s teasing, of course – she probably just doesn’t want to get too close to those enormous teeth – ouch!

The trip is a success. Sophia’s happy as a jaybird, although a little worn out, from their little excursion.So worn out, in fact, that she drifts off to sleep and stays that way for a few hours…

At around 6:00 I pull into the driveway and park underneath the carport. I’m greeted by a big smile and the one single word that makes my heart leap from my chest, “Mama!” We eat pepper steak, mashed potatoes, and salad, and then disrobe the little girl to free her from her mashed potato mess! Jammies on, story read (Curious George – to recap the day’s events), teeth brushed, and back in bed, at about 7:30. Sophia’s bedtime is always a good time, because it means Mama’s bedtime will follow shortly after.

About Me

I'm married to the best-looking, most considerate, funniest man alive. We have four beautiful, curly-headed children - 3 girls and a boy (all in under 6 years!), and we live in one of the most gorgeous places on earth. I'm happy to get the chance to give friends and family a glimpse into our lives as we strive to love each other better every day.